The current-day digital landscape has left no stone unturned in its expansion. Now that the security of millions of people’s finances lies in the hands of online security and navigation, the importance of performance testing for banking applications has been on the rise.
In fact, the consumer survey banking methods 2024 clearly states that 64% of Gen-Z and 68% of millennials do most of their transactions using apps. In this post, we are going to take a detailed look at the different facets of performance testing for banking applications, starting from what it is to some of its best practices and tools. Let’s dive right in.
What is Performance Testing for Banking Applications?
Banking domain application testing determines how an application fares under different conditions. Performance testing for banking applications evaluates scalability, responsiveness, stability, and speed of banking systems under specific workloads. It includes financial APIs, mobile banking apps, online banking platforms, and core banking systems.
Even a nanosecond of delay can result in poor customer experience or multiple failed transactions. That’s where banking domain application testing for performance comes into the picture by ensuring the handling of enormous transaction volumes, complex third-party integrations, and concurrent users without shutting down.
Moreover, since banking applications involve dealing with vast amounts of real-time processing of transactions, sensitive financial data, and facing excessive compliance pressure with regulatory standards, it’s crucial for bank testing to offer utmost security, reliability, and accuracy for building customer trust for the long haul.
Some other reasons why it’s crucial to test financial applications include data privacy, security, transaction integrity, and risk mitigation.
How To Establish a Setup For Banking Domain Application Testing
It’s important to realize that test environment setup for banking application calls for a high level of simulation capabilities, security, and coordination. Let’s take a look at how to establish a setup for banking domain application testing.
Step 1: Requirements Analysis
This step comprises of defining business-critical workflows and identifying integrations and compliance requirements.
Step 2: Configuring The Environment
Environment configuration involves using production-like test environments with the help of dummy data and the integration of third-party services, APIs, middleware, and Core Banking Systems or CBS.
Step 3: Managing Test Data
The third step is to generate synthetic or anonymized test data followed by managing it and ensuring that it reflects real world scenarios relevant to the banking industry.
Step 4: Establishing Security Protocols
Apply authentication, access controls, and encryption. Robustness comes with simulating a wide array of cyber attack scenarios.
Step 5: Using The Appropriate Test Automation Frameworks
Make a comprehensive list of features your organization is looking for and check whether the most trustworthy cloud-based automation frameworks can offer them. We’ll take a look at the details about how to choose BFSI testing tools and what features to look for in the coming sections.
How To Test Banking Application
Once you’ve established a banking domain application testing setup, it’s time to implement a clear performance testing strategy consistently. Depending on the business scale, objectives, and features of the app under test, the following steps could need to be customized. Let’s take a look.
Step 1: Gathering and Analyzing Requirements
Requirement gathering and analysis are the first steps in performance testing for banking applications. QA teams outline testing specifications while evaluating testing requirements under the supervision of a UX specialist.
Step 2: Test Case Development
Developing test cases involves test case creation with corresponding scripts. Quality assurance teams are responsible for creating, verifying, and remaking requirement and feature-based test cases by separating them on the basis of functionality modules.
Step 3: Executing Tests and Examining Analytics
Since we already done with our test environment set up and defining the specifics of architecture, software, and hardware, QA teams can move on to executing performance tests that adhere to pre-created test plans and test cases. Then comes evaluating requirements and reporting any errors to the development team. This process involves collaborating, exchanging information, test documents and creating a report post analysis.
Step 4: Reporting and Retesting
Testers take the remaining tests into account and reprioritize them depending on their findings to execute them once again. Once all the metrics reach and acceptable limit and the QA team have all the necessary findings, testing is complete.
Performance Testing in BFSI Checklist
Overlooking any critical aspect of performance testing in BFSI can backfire and cause catastrophic losses. The following checklist ensure a comprehensive coverage of all the necessary parameters. Here’s what it includes.
- Defining business-critical user journeys.
Validating concurrent processing of transactions. - Simulating peak traffic conditions.
- Testing under different network conditions such as 3G, 4G, 5G, and Wi-Fi.
- Analyzing server memory/ CPU utilization.
- Checking query response times of the database.
- Evaluating the response time under encryption or decryption of data.
- Ensuring privacy and security regulation compliance.
- Performing recovery and failover testing.
- Benchmarking against performance KPIs and SLAs.
Test Cases for Banking Application
Performance testing for banking applications calls for comprehensive test case set addressing different performance aspects across varying modules. They are:
Authentication and Login
Preferably, using a sample banking application for testing, testers can check whether the users are able to log in with valid usernames and passwords. They should also check error message display while entering incorrect credentials, proper working of multi-factor authentication, and that a user account gets logged after a particular amount of unsuccessful login attempts. It’s also crucial to verify the enforcement of session timeout after an inactive time frame to avoid unauthorized access.
Funds Transfer
Verify the successful transfer of funds, correct transaction processing, displaying of error message in case of exceeding funds for transfer according to the predefined limit or available balance. Testers should also check whether the application is generating a unique transaction ID per transfer and that it’s also reflecting it in the transaction history.
Account Management
QA teams must verify that the users are able to clearly view detailed information about their account such as account number, transaction history, balance, and they can update information such as email, phone number, and address along with the correct reflection of changes. It’s also important to confirm that the users are able to request account statements for different date ranges, upload and verify KYC documents, and experience a correct processing of workflow by the application.
Alerts and Notifications
Customer should always be able to receive transaction alerts through app notifications, SMS, email, or their method of choice. The notifications should be complete, accurate, users should be receiving them in real time. They should also be able to customize notification settings in accordance with their unique preferences.
Security
QA teams should verify password storage in an encrypted format and the transmission of user data over secure and encrypted protocols. Unauthorized users shouldn’t be able to access features or pages meant for authenticated users. The app should also properly terminate user sessions upon session timeout or logout. Testers should make sure that the application is resilient to vulnerabilities such as cross-site request forgery (CSRF), Cross Site Scripting (XSS), and SQL injection.
Mobile Banking
Performance testing is more vital than ever for mobile banking apps. If the device supports it, users should be able to log in using facial recognition or fingerprint. QA teams should also verify other functionalities such as the app’s adaptability to different resolutions and screen sizes, its performance under low network conditions or unstable Wi-Fi, etc.
Recharge and Bill Payment
Verify the addition or management of bills for utilities and scheduling bill payments. Testers should have a provision for testing failed payments and whether they get retried or even rolled back, with appropriate notifications. Every single action ought to appear in the user transaction history.
Features to Look For in BFSI Testing Tools
BFSI testing is a whole lot different from testing for less sensitive industries. Therefore, testing for a banking or finance app calls for a particular set of features that organizations should look for before choosing a testing tool. Some of them include:
AI Augmented, Unified, and Omnichannel Testing
Ideally, look for an AI-powered cloud-based testing tool with a track record of success, especially in banking apps. It should ensure reliability and consistency across different user touchpoints, such as desktops, mobile, and web, by testing BFSI applications on multiple operating systems and devices to result in a unified and seamless CX.
Private On-Premises and Cloud Setup
To eliminate location as a hurdle and for highly regulated BFSI apps, opt for a platform offering dedicated on-premises and private cloud setups with the intention to meet data security and compliance standards. At the same time, it also offers businesses high control and flexibility.
Audio and Image Testing
Ensure reliability of app performance under different circumstances such as multitouch gestures, audio listening and voice commands. Choose a platform that helps in automating audio injection and image testing for BFSI applications, which is vital for features such as interactive voice response systems and mobile check deposits.
GPS Testing and Real User Conditions
Simulate user-centric real-world banking-related conditions such as app conflicts, different network conditions, and other locations. Specific scenarios like branch and ATM locators are tested through geolocation and comprehensive GPS testing.
Advanced Level Authentication
The platform you opt for should promote advanced authentication processes like two-factor authentication and biometrics to add to the security layer of financial transactions and further protect user data.
Testing Digital Payments
Your performance testing tool for banking applications should ensure smooth digital transaction processing through platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. QA teams should be able to conduct testing, monitoring, and analysis of remittance services, P2P transfers, and contactless payments.
Comprehensive and Secure Bank Testing with Pcloudy
Now that we are clear on the top features to look for in BFSI testing tools, it poses a significant challenge. Out of an ocean of performance testing tools, how can an organization make an informed choice? The first step would be to check the credibility of the shortlisted platforms.
For instance, Pcloudy earned the trust of multiple established entities in the BFSI domain testing by offering an end-to-end experience in performance testing for the banking sector. Some examples from their top case studies include:
- Helping a European Bank firm cut their app testing costs by a whopping 20x.
- Enabled a Singapore-based banking client to save up on 3x returns by offering 5x test coverage.
- Accelerated application adoption for an American Healthcare insurance company
Flawless Functional Experience
It ensures bug-free and smooth interactions, 24/7 availability, proactive monitoring, lag theory performance, optimized transactions, responsiveness, and speed.
AI-Powered Automations Scalability
Pcloudy supports BFSI testing by generating coded automation testing scripts in the language of your choice using Qpilot.ai’s NLP. It also uses Qheal.AI for maintaining test stability and Qobservability.AI for RCA and comprehensive analytics.
Banking Validation with Functional Experience Testing
Pcloudy supports real-time issue reporting and accessibility testing and is compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA.
Performance Experience Testing
ML detects anomalies and uses dynamic performance graphs and temporal analysis for real-time visualization. Pcloudy also tracks more than 60 metrics, including error rates, memory usage, latency, launch time, and so on.
Synthetic Continuous Monitoring
This feature includes generating autonomous scripts for continuous monitoring, parallel testing, supporting scalable, hybrid cloud, and actionable intelligence to prioritize customer satisfaction and instant fixes.
Comprehensive Device Coverage
The platform offers access to an extensive range of real iOS and Android devices, real desktop browsers such as Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome with all their versions, and non-standard devices to help test applications on custom devices. Some of them include Zebra devices, IoT, wearables, ATM interfaces, handheld scanners, and POS terminals.
Of course, the above features barely scratch the surface of what the platform offers. Some other crucial features include media testing, OCR extraction, and physical sim testing to check for the correct functioning of features such as document uploads, video KYC, document scanning, check deposits, device cameras, OTP validation, SMS-based authentication, and so on.
Banking Domain Application Testing Best Practices
Due to the critical nature, banking domain application testing requires a methodical and meticulous approach. Let’s examine some best practices.
Creating Modular and Reusable Test Cases
Make the most of your performance testing for banking apps by designing test cases in a reusable and modular manner to accommodate frequent workflow and business rules change. As the app evolves, this approach enhances test suite scalability and maintainability.
Use Synthetic Test Data and Data Masking
Always ensure compliance with data protection regulations by avoiding using actual customer data and replacing it with synthetic test data in test environments. You can also use data masking tools to further anonymize sensitive fields such as personal identifiers and account numbers.
Implement Continuous Feedback Loops
Adopt DevOps and agile methodologies by making testing a continuous process throughout the development life cycle. Gather as much real-time feedback as possible and make banking app performance testing an adaptive and continuous process.
Conclusion
Performance testing for banking applications goes far beyond just verifying user interface functionality. It extends to ensuring the utmost performance, compliance, reliability, and security, considering the highly risk-sensitive and regulated nature of the industry.
Pcloudy’s AI-powered cloud-based testing platform helps QA teams adhere to structured testing methodologies by providing in-depth insight into domain-specific nuances and delivering efficient and resilient banking solutions.
FAQs
How can you ensure the highest level of security while testing a banking application?
It’s possible to ensure a high level of security through access control based on roles, test data, encryption, GDPR compliance, and regular vulnerability assessments.
What are some of the most critical modules for testing in a banking app?
Some of the most critical modules to test include authentication/login, account management, funds transfer, bill payments, transaction history, customer notifications, and loan processing.
What makes performance testing vital for banking apps?
The banking sector has to handle an excruciatingly high number of user loads, concurrent access, and transaction spikes daily, and it can’t afford to compromise accuracy or speed. This makes performance testing essential for banking applications.
